I told you that 14 Catholic churches across Western New York slated for closure or merger as part of the Diocese of Buffalo's "Road to Renewal" initiative have had their fates temporarily placed on hold The churches received letters from the Vatican saying they received their appeals and will suspend the closings and mergers until a full review is conducted Since my story aired, more parishioners have reached out to share their renewed sense of hope. You can read more about it here or watch the video below Parishioners received letters from the Vatican indicating that their appeals have been acknowledged and that a thorough review will happen in Rome before decisions are finalized This development has sparked a renewed 'sense of hope' within the affected communities several of whom have rallied to keep their places of worship open says the Vatican's letters are a "great win" in their ongoing crusade to preserve their parish's legacy "To officially have the letter from the Vatican has been a great win for us in our crusade to keep our parish a parish," Forgach said The Diocese of Buffalo's plans would turn St that plan is on hold as the Vatican reviews the parish's appeals "If there's a silver lining to all of this I feel like a lot of people have become motivated to protect their churches," Forgach said "I think it's brought some people back closer that may have strayed away for a while." Forgach also has two daughters attending St He says he believes in the importance of Catholic education in his family's life Jesus died for our sins so we could all go to heaven," he said Rose of Lima in Forestville who heard from Rome Aimee Rogers of Forestville and Tammy Green of Silver Creek "Everything has changed for the community having these doors close," Green added But these parishioners say the Vatican letter suspends their closing and they're now hoping the bishop reopens it during the appeal review "We're expecting the doors to open while we are in the appeal process," Green said "How difficult is it not to be able to go to your parish?" I asked it's been really challenging for our group," Rogers replied "We would do the stations of the cross and so many different things." "My mom has been involved with the community and the local churches forever and it breaks her heart that I can’t take her there," Green added they walk by "faith," hopeful that something might turn around "Continue to pray because it was divine intervention that got our letter to the Vatican," Green said The following churches received the letters: We want to hear what’s going on in your community Share your voice and hear from your neighbors EGGERTSVILLE, NY (WKBW) — Another Catholic church is pushing back against the Diocese of Buffalo to keep its doors open. St. Benedict on Main Street in Eggertsville is asking its faith community to sign a petition. Under recent recommendations as part of the Road to Renewal the diocese is calling to close the church RELATED: Here are the Buffalo Catholic Diocese parishes that have been recommended to merge 7 News Senior Reporter met with two parishioners and talked to the leader of the diocese’s Road to Renewal you're going to get rid of all the momentum that we have and the energy that we've built up,” remarked Nador Forgach “We believe there's still viability in the parish at St Cimasi and Forgach are both parishioners and school parents at St They’re hoping the Buffalo Diocese hears their plea to remain open The pastor informed parishioners they would meet with the diocese to counter the closing recommendation can continue to help the process by continuing to go to mass "Our trustees are looking at the numbers doing some comparisons and planning to have this dialogue with the diocese,” noted Cimasi Earlier this month the Buffalo Diocese announced recommendations to close or merge more than 70 parishes in an effort to right-size as it faces declining Mass attendance and a priest shortage "And that's a little short-sighted to think that everyone from St Benedict's is all of a sudden going to go to St Leo’s and you're going to have the same revenue coming in,” Forgach explained “My understanding is we have the second highest St Benedict's Mass attendance of the six churches in our family I certainly don't want this to devolve into sort of a numbers game,” said Cimasi right in front of me,” displayed Father Bryan Zielenieski He showed me the numbers on mass attendance directly from St It's on the sheet and it will say 345,” responded Father Zielenieski Father Zielenieski also shared his computer screen displaying diocesan data "The end of the ’22 was 345 which came right off the sheet so it was information parish community,” Father Zielenieski commented But parishioners I spoke to are questioning why a church with a vibrant school would be closed there are about 425 students enrolled with a waiting list “People are putting a vibrant school and vibrant parish in the same category — they're two different entities We want that to continue to grow and this will provide an opportunity that the school could actually do more on the campus that they see fit and that it would work that way,” said Father Zielenieski As the diocese plan calls to keep the school open it would allow the school to utilize the church space “It's a second home for us and we love it,” Forgach reflected Benedict must submit its recommendations to the diocese by July 15 A final list of closures will be issued on September 1 This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Double your impact with a matched Mother's Day donation the body of 82-year-old Louise Cicelsky was found in her home in the Eggertsville neighborhood of Amherst She had been stabbed in the neck and had been beaten Police were called after a relative came to check on Ms Cicelsky because she had not answered phone calls and failed to come to a bar mitzvah in Albany Officers found three purses and her wig next to her body a white dresser had a bloody fingerprint on one of the drawers and on a white purse There were blood stains inside the purse flap and the purse Police recovered nearly $1,700 in cash as well as credit cards in the home was well-known as a feisty widow who owned and managed several rental properties and collected rents in cash Nearly 50 items of evidence were collected and sent to the Erie County Department of Central Police Services Forensic Laboratory Thirteen items were submitted for DNA testing None of the blood spatter or the fingernail scrapings were tested Cicelsky had been dead for at least 12 hours prior to her discovery The last evidence of her being alive was May 17 Calls to her home on May 18 went unanswered a contractor arrived for a previously scheduled appointment Cicelsky had problems with multiple tenants over late payments and building maintenance Among those investigated was a man whom Ms Cicelsky had sold a property to and she had started proceedings against when he failed to make payment Police also investigated a tenant who had been convicted of manslaughter and gave inconsistent statements about when he had last seen Ms Cicelsky had clashed numerous times in the past over late rent payments Police later said they didn’t believe the caller was Ms Lynch told them that her sister had ridden by Ms Cicelsky’s home in a taxi and saw police there Police confirmed that account with her sister and with the cab company Lynch thought they were “close.” They had shared a meal on one occasion Cicelsky on April 25 when she paid her rent but that he felt as if someone in her circle of friends was involved police began to suspect that a man named Kareem Walker was involved in the crime Lynch with whom she had once been romantically involved Detectives LaCorte and Raymond Klimczak turned to Ms Lynch and drove her around until she pointed out Mr Detectives LaCorte and Klimczak went to Buffalo City Court where Ms and the detectives later met with a prosecutor in the Erie County District Attorney’s office to try to work out a deal for Ms Lynch in exchange for her cooperation in the murder case when he and Detective Klimczak went back to court on October 22 she approached him unprompted prior to sentencing and said she had learned information about the murder Lynch later testified that the detectives had approached her and told her it would be “smart” of her to start giving information The detectives said she told them that a woman who was dating Mr Lynch met with the detectives and a prosecutor Walker committed the crime with his cousin Walker drove her to pay her rent on May 10 The detectives took her to the police station where she was fitted with a wire Lynch then went to several locations to try to gather information on Mr This was unsuccessful and they learned that Mr she signed a statement in which she said Mr Walker had admitted to her that he killed Ms and Detective LaCorte threatened to charge her The detective would later testify that prompted Ms Walker would come through the back door and rob Ms Cicelsky twice and knocked her to the floor Walker went into her bedroom and returned with money in his hand Cicelsky with duct tape — although this was not in the written statement Cicelsky in the back of the neck with a black handled dagger that was about five or six inches long Lynch was indicted on charges of second-degree murder and first-degree robbery on June 13 Lynch went to trial in Erie County Supreme Court There was no physical or forensic evidence connecting her to the crime Amherst Police Captain Michael Melton testified that only two latent palm prints found in the hallway of the multi-family building were suitable for comparison and that the sources of those palm prints were of a plumber and another tenant of Ms Captain Melton said none of the other prints found at the scene were suitable for comparison The confession was the cornerstone of the prosecution’s case A jailhouse informant testified that while she was in jail with Ms Lynch had admitted taking part in the crime the informant had also testified for the prosecution in an unrelated murder trial that the defendant in that case had confessed to her as well Lynch testified and denied that she was involved in the crime that it was the result of coercion by the detectives and that it was based on information the detectives fed her during questioning She said that Detective LaCorte had threatened her with seven years of jail time for theft but promised that she would not be arrested if she helped get it back Detective LaCorte broke his promise and told her that they knew Mr Walker but not herself at the scene of the crime – would not be enough to arrest him Lynch asserted that the detectives told her that they “needed [her] to be there at the murder.”  She testified that Detective LaCorte then fed her information; showed her photographs of the crime scene; threatened her with perjury and another 10 to 14-year sentence; banged on the table; and asked leading questions although she knew nothing about the murder she felt pressured to make up a story because she feared going back to jail for the theft and she believed that giving the detectives what they wanted would keep her out Lynch testified that at the time of the interrogation she was heavily addicted to crack and she was concerned about getting her next fix She said that what the detectives didn’t feed her she knew from following news accounts of the crime but $1,700 in cash had been recovered from Ms She said the crime occurred between 6 and 7 p.m Cicelsky had been active since the night before There was no evidence that duct tape had been used or that the weapon was a dagger The medical examiner said the wounds could have been caused by “any sharp pointed” weapon Lynch of second-degree murder and first-degree robbery She was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Her convictions and sentence were upheld on appeal the Innocence Project and the law firm of Byrialsen & Fisher were representing Ms a certified latent print examiner from Ron Smith & Associates reviewed 14 digital images of fingerprints that had been obtained through a public records request Marvin concluded there were seven prints suitable for comparison over the objections of Erie County District Attorney John Flynn Jr. granted a request for DNA testing that had been filed by Innocence Project attorney Susan Friedman and attorney Jane Fisher-Byrialsen A bloody fingerprint found on the dresser was to be checked against state and federal fingerprint databases There were DNA profiles from two unknown male individuals found on a glove box Marvin reviewed evidence at the police department and determined that there were 14 prints suitable for comparison Lynch’s lawyers said were locations “highly” indicative that they were left by the killer There were prints found on the door jamb leading to the hallway to the guest bedroom where the bloodstains were found on the purse and dresser As part of the re-investigation that was also being conducted by the Erie County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) the Amherst police revealed records showing that at the time of the crime five prints had been compared to possible suspects This contradicted Captain Melton’s trial testimony that only two prints were suitable for comparison Fisher-Byrialsen filed a motion to vacate Ms Cicelsky who had a prior conviction for manslaughter was the source of nine of the fingerprints The motion noted that prior to Lynch’s trial Amherst police had compared the prints of Ms That information had not been disclosed to the defense Lynch in 2005 and to post-conviction counsel in 2017 the informant said she used information she obtained from media accounts to come up with her false testimony noting that District Attorney Flynn did not object Justice Boller granted the prosecution’s motion to dismiss the case Contributing Causes of Conviction: False Confessions or Admissions Your submission has been received successfully Please check your connection and try again An Amherst police officer attempts to interrogate Pork Chop about his escape and romp through Eggertsville in April Pork Chop the emotional support pig has flown the coop The 200-pound potbellied porker that caused a stir this spring by rambling around its Eggertsville neighborhood was removed from the home where it lived in violation of Amherst town code A town building inspector this week confirmed that Pork Chop no longer lives at the home of Kevin and Dianna Kruss and Amherst Town Justice Geoffrey Klein dismissed the charges against the homeowners Wednesday in Housing Court Town Prosecutor Jeffrey Marion said it's his understanding the pig was moved out of state "They fixed the problem," Marion said Thursday when Pork Chop broke out from the ranch-style home on Castle Court where he had lived in pignito The pig made its way over to nearby Coronation Drive where police and neighbors finally got control of him and The town Building Department later cited the Krusses for code violations because the town only allows livestock on properties zoned suburban agricultural sought a temporary use permit from the Amherst Zoning Board of Appeals They argued the pig was an emotional support animal for their daughter-in-law the Amherst Town Board late last month updated its dog code to add a lengthy definition of livestock – including goats emus and turkeys – and to explicitly note the animals are subject to seizure and the owners are subject to fines and fees The Krusses' daughter-in-law had planned to move out of town but that fell through and the pig remained in the Castle Court home The Krusses risked hundreds of dollars in fines if they couldn't find another place for him to stay The Krusses were most recently in Housing Court on Aug when they were ordered to return Wednesday Dianna Kruss called the town Building Department prior to the latest hearing to say the pig was gone from the home a fact the inspector confirmed on his visit The Krusses did not appear in court Wednesday Dianna Kruss declined comment and referred a reporter to her attorney associate director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal Corbitt has not responded to messages seeking comment 'Emotional support pig' remains at home, defying Amherst's zoning code Jeffrey Marion is set to replace Town Justice Kara Buscaglia following her election this past November to a … Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account NY (WKBW) — Carrie Owens has always been that dedicated coach every high school athlete dreams of having She's been calling the shots at Sacred Heart Academy in Eggertsville since the summer of 2017 She's helped lead the Sharks to many Monsignor Martin league titles But the 2021 season has tested Owens in more ways than one Because while she'd love to be in the gym with her girls coaching virtually from her wheelchair with a new outlook on life "It changed my whole perspective on things," Owens said "You just gotta remember that there's people that are worse than you and to just not take anything for granted." Owen's life changed forever back in November She was in a motorcycle accident that resulted in an emergency amputation of her left leg She was released from the hospital more than a week later but the road to recovery has been ongoing I have a torn meniscus and lateral ligament in this [right] leg She's going to have to have surgery on her right leg once her prosthetic is in place but it's basketball that's given her that escape She's a coach and she wanted nothing more than to do that this season "I promised the girls I would be back coaching and I wanted to be back coaching," she said The school and Owens came up with a game-day setup that's worked wonders She's got a view of the school's live stream on one laptop a view from an assistant coach's ipad [held by an assistant or student-athelte] on another laptop and a cell phone to communicate with her girls on the bench because Owens is coaching and in her element and anxious to one day be back on the sideline "I'll probably have this warm sensation or feeling when I first go into the gym and the game starts," she said about one day returning to the sideline And that time could come sooner than later Owens was cleared by doctors and will be on the sideline for the first this season on Friday when they play Nardin Federal prosecutors say this mansion on Lebrun Road in Eggertsville contained an unusual – and illegal – amenity: a climate-controlled marijuana grow room hidden behind sheetrock panels When Ronald Serio sold his 9,000-square-foot, E.B. Green-designed mansion on Lebrun Road stories about the sale detailed the home's extravagant amenities from a movie room and bar to an outdoor pool Nowhere was there any mention of a marijuana grow room is charged in a new grand jury indictment with planning to grow marijuana in an Eggertsville house many still remember as the first Decorators' Show House from outside of Buffalo with trafficking in large amounts of marijuana and distributing cocaine The charges also include a demand that he forfeit the money he made from last year's $1.15 million sale of the French Provincial mansion the three-story home was built on a 2.4-acre site investigators from the FBI and Erie County Sheriff's Office detail what they claim they found when they first searched the Lebrun house in April of 2017 They found a newly constructed room hidden behind sheetrock panels "This room was approximately twelve feet by twelve feet and contained a humidifier and a climate control unit," the court papers said Investigators also found several sealed bags of marijuana and a semi-automatic rifle under a mattress in the master bedroom On the same day the Lebrun mansion was searched investigators searched a house at 91 West Grimsby Road in the Town of Tonawanda owned by Serio The papers detail one- and two-pound bags of marijuana found stuffed in duffel bags and plastic garbage bags at the house investigators seized 105 pounds of marijuana documents and a prescription pill bottle with Serio's name on them Investigators pointed to two confidential sources who had identified Serio as someone who trafficked in large quantities of marijuana he had substantial problems," defense attorney Herbert L Greenman said of his client's drug addiction he's gone through a substantial rehab and he's doing great now." Greenman detailed his client's addiction to painkillers in response to a question from U.S Serio entered a plea of not guilty and was released on conditions Greenman filed a memorandum with the court detailing his client's drug addiction Serio is suffering from a devastating use of opiates and heroin," he said at the time he echoed those remarks but indicated Serio was on the road to recovery "He's a totally different person," he told Roemer Serio is charged with narcotics conspiracy and illegally distributing marijuana He is also charged with using the properties on Lebrun and West Grimsby as drug premises and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking the house on LeBrun was previously owned by James Coppola one of Buffalo's most famous and prolific architects Picked by the Junior League as its Show House in 2009 the house drew an estimated 20,000 visitors Serio is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S A raid on Ronald Serio's Amherst mansion turned up an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle Jury selection starts Monday in the case against former DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni Louis Selva is expected to share with jurors insider information that only he and a few other people know about how and why – and for how much… Firefighters in the Amherst area were put to the test today in a live fire training session battled an actual fire and trained alongside each other Wednesday to solidify safe firefighting techniques Getzville Fire Chief Scott Preston has noticed that more and more often these three companies are fighting the same fires  That's why they planned a group training session "We thought it'd be a good idea to take some basic skills and work together as a group," he said  "So that when we're on a fire ground Lieutenant David Morales with Getzville Fire is also a photographer with 7 Eyewitness News  He attached a camera to his helmet to give us a firsthand look at what the volunteers go through inside the burn room "I am kind of the go to photographer for the fire company," he said with a smile The point of the training is to put firefighters through realistic scenarios so when they face the real thing "They'll still have the smoke and the heat that they have to deal with," Getzville Firefighter David Nowak explained  "That brings up the stress level with the firefighters and if you can train with that stress level you're going to perform better when you're called on the fire ground." Morales says this type of training becomes very important when firefighters finally get into the field 'in the heat of the battle you will not rise to the occasion  You will default to your standard of training'," he said.  the dangers these firefighters face are very real they're going to be encountering fires that are upwards of 800 degrees maybe a little better than that," Nowak said this training is an important part of the job "It's a tremendous privilege to be a firefighter," he said  "The community expects a lot out of us  We owe it to the community to be as best we can Hanging out from left are Fred Calandra of Clarence Paul Haumesser of Williamsville and Bob Cottrell of Amherst Brunner's Tavern bartender Jeff Kujawa cooks an 8-ounce burger and 12-ounce NY strip steak for customers Patrick Doherty pours a Resurgence IPA; he has been working part time at Brunner's for 25 years Brunner's Tavern is an enduring Northtowns favorite that offers both Buffalo tavern comfort and culinary favorites in ample helpings The same surname doesn’t stay above the entrance of a modest tavern for more than 100 years by chance Ask one of the co-owners of cherished Eggertsville outpost Brunner’s and he’ll cite lots of reasons for his family business’s endurance on Main Street Menu items are consistently among the region’s best in their class Domestic beer-drinking patrons have laughter as strong as their loyalty The committed staff has been part of the Brunner’s operation for decades Just don’t expect Danny Brinkworth to divulge too many details about the latter they remain as confidential as a weekend in Las Vegas Tons,” Brinkworth said about his favorite Brunner’s moments “I can’t really single out anything that wouldn’t get someone in trouble.” What can be divulged is that the tavern’s memories bloomed within its many iterations over its century of existence including the time since it changed hands between Chet Brunner and Danny’s uncle It's been a watering hole for University at Buffalo students A post-game sanctuary for legions of softball players And a favored locale for early 20th century imbibers who barhopped the Main drag on horseback its consistency of traditional tavern comfort and mandatory Buffalo menu fare is what’s kept the simplistic Northtowns spot on the map since 1915 and fertile for good times among friends and strangers guests can expect to find the same narrow barroom and welcoming wood-hewn dining room that Brunner’s has boasted throughout its tenure Although dimly lit in the fashion of some of the region’s best shot-and-a-beer spots the darkness doesn’t dampen the tavern’s take-a-load-off vibe It merely provides a more clandestine aura for an address operated by a hustling and cordial staff; accented by conversation-level 97 Rock televised sports or turns on its vintage Ms Pac-Man arcade game; and headlined by menu items that make displaced Buffalonians salivate for home Its array of burgers ($9-$10) and massive 12-ounce strip steak sandwich ($16) — both available outside full kitchen hours and prepped on a open grill behind the bar — can flank dark pints of Sam Adams or Guinness (both $5) Its mastery of Buffalo’s holy trinity of fish fry wings and beef-on-weck - hand-carved ($9.95) for lunch on Mondays - is impressive by even the most local diner’s standards; its homemade soups are hearty enough to stand alone Its macaroni salad - known by the misleading moniker of “gruel” by tavern regulars - is good enough to co-headline any entrée or sandwich All elements have collaborated to make Brunner’s the type of place that can span generations the Brinkworths—including fellow co-owners Richard and Kara Danny’s father and sister—draped a large Brunner’s banner inside the tavern for patrons and employees to sign More than 500 names and hundreds of sentiments were scrawled across the 14-foot signage it will be repurposed as wallpaper across Brunner’s western wall (near Eggert Road) And in the absence of barroom tales that Brinkworth keeps buttoned up the details penned on that banner will spark personal memories that have kept the bar's doors open through suds-soaked evenings savory meals and entertaining moments—albeit ones reserved for the audience that continues to fill the tavern’s humble confines Address: 3989 Main St., Amherst (836-9718; on Facebook) Hours: Bar—equipped with grill and fryers—opens at 11 a.m Scene: Enduring Northtowns favorite that offers both Buffalo tavern comfort and culinary favorites in ample helpings established by the original equine-loving owners in 1915 Parking: Large side and rear lot off Main Street Don’t forget to: Schedule a Monday lunch visit for Brunner’s hand-carved beef on weck